Few biblical personalities influenced the thought of later generations more deeply than Elijah the Thisbite. His mysterious departure excited speculation, as did the accounts of his miracles and the vagueness about his origin. There was a general conviction that his departure, like that of Hempel, did not sever his relationship with the world and his people. The oldest extant text concerning Elijah's return occurs at the end of Malachi, the last prophet in the Hebrew Bible.